Unforgettable by Adrianne Byrd Page A

anger than she intended.
    â€œDiana?”
    â€œYes, it’s me.” She swallowed.
    â€œWhat do you mean you can’t feed Brandy? Where is Juanita?”
    â€œFamily emergency. Solomon asked me to feed Brandy, but I’m terrified of dogs,” she rambled on.
    Marcel sighed. “Okay, calm down. Let me think.”
    Diana did as he instructed, while guilt trickled down her spine. What did she expect him to do when he was in New York?
    On the other side of the line, she heard megaphones and music playing. He was still working. “Look, I know this is short notice, but I can’t get the image of being mauled to death out of my head.”
    â€œBy Brandy?” He laughed. “I promise you, she wouldn’t hurt a fly. You have to believe me on that.”
    â€œI’m sorry,” she repeated, starting the car. “But I can’t do it.”
    Marcel’s frustration seeped through the line. “We can’t let her starve.”
    â€œI’m not suggesting that. It’s just…well, I had a bad experience with a dog once.”
    â€œYou were bitten?” His voice filled with instant concern.
    His concern was probably manufactured to calm her down—and it was working. “When I was a teenager, my grandmother had a neighbor with a rotweiler.”
    â€œUh-huh.”
    â€œWell, his name was Killer, of all things. And he was constantly barking and growling at everyone that walked past. I felt safe as long as he was behind the fence.”
    â€œDon’t tell me. He escaped?” Marcel guessed.
    â€œDug a hole and crawled out. I swear he must have chased me ten blocks.”
    â€œDid he bite you?”
    â€œBite me? He couldn’t catch me,” she deadpanned. “When the dust cleared my grandmother insisted I join the track team in high school.”
    Marcel laughed. “Okay, then you can do this. If you want, I can even stay on the phone with you while you go into the house.”
    â€œWhat are you supposed to do over the phone?”
    â€œI don’t know.” He sighed. “Give support?”
    She shook her head. “Your dog needs to eat and I’m being silly.”
    â€œWell, I’d appreciate it if you could feed her. First thing in the morning I can see if I can find someone else to take care of her. Who knows, Juanita might be finished dealing with her emergency.”
    She agreed, but her heart was already beginning to pound hard. “Are you sure she’s not going to attack me?”
    â€œTrust me,” he said. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”
    Believing him, she drew a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll go in there.” What the hell am I saying?
    â€œDo you need me to stay on the phone with you?”
    â€œNah, I think I can handle it.” Someone shut me up.
    After a long pause he asked, “Are you sure?”
    Another lengthy silence stretched between them before she shut off the engine.
    â€œDiana?”
    â€œYeah, I’m sure. I’ll call you back if there’s a problem.” She quickly ended the call before she wound up promising to adopt the damn dog.
    A few minutes later, she stood outside Marcel’s front door, rubbing her sweaty palms against her slacks. “He promised she wouldn’t hurt you. He wouldn’t lie.” Though a part of her still believed prayers fell on deaf ears, she prayed anyway.
    She extracted the house key and the security code from her purse. “Just be calm, cool and collected,” she coached herself. “Dogs can sense fear.”
    She slipped the key into the lock, but it took her another moment to try and enter the premises. Determination instead of courage came to her rescue and she finally pushed open the door.
    Once inside, she quickly found the alarm system’s keypad where she nervously entered the pass code. So far so good. Diana breathed in a little easier, but when she turned away from the wall, her heart